Pair of Bulldogs win 3-2-1A wrestling titles

Saturday

And if anyone begs to differ, just ask Rossville’s Tagen Lambotte and Sheldon Graves.

The two Bulldogs who continually wrestled against each other in the practice room all season long snagged two state titles at the Class 3-2-1A state championships Saturday at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

"Tagen and I worked hard all year long and were practice partners," said Graves, one of two seniors to qualify for state for Rossville. "We get each other pumped up. I saw him win, and that got me excited."

The excitement of Lambotte’s win at 135 as only a freshman sent a thunderous roar through the Rossville faithful in attendance, and that was followed by an equally loud celebration as the final seconds ticked away in Graves’ match at 145.

"It was phenomenal," Rossville coach Curt Brecheisen said. "Those kids, in the eyes of most people, were the underdog, especially Tagen as a freshman going up against a senior. I was confident though because our schedule was so tough, as tough as you can have in eastern Kansas."

That tough competition prepared the Bulldogs for the always-tough state tourney. Four of the team’s five qualifiers placed in the top six, including senior Kiefer Hurla’s third-place finish at 140 and junior Mark Smith’s fourth-place outing at 152.

The titles by Lambotte and Graves marked the first time in school history the Bulldogs won two individual titles in the same year, and the team’s third-place finish was the best in school history, eclipsing a fifth-place finish in 2002. Rossville finished with 84 points, trailing only Norton (131½) and Hoxie (97).

"We had high expectations all year," Lambotte said. "We were ranked third early, and that showed it wasn’t just us that knew what we could do."

Lambotte took the mat at 135 pounds with a confident, determined walk against Norton senior Brett Terrell.

Lambotte grabbed an early takedown before being tied 3-3 at the end of one period and 5-5 entering the final period. Lambotte (48-2) started in the down position before getting a reversal. He subsequently let up Terrell (24-3) before grabbing another takedown, letting Terrell escape then finishing with another takedown for an 11-7 win.

"There might have been more pressure on him being a senior to win it," Lambotte said. "There might have been more pressure on me because all week long people were coming up to me and asking if I was going to be a four-time champion. I said I had to win one first, then a second and onto a fourth."

Graves (44-3) watched from a comfortable distance as Lambotte won his match, then he focused on what he needed to do to match his practice partner.

When he strode onto the mat for his match at 145 against undefeated Central-Burden junior Ky Biddle (35-1), he was just as determined.

That determination showed in the second period when he scored an escape with 1:25 remaining to break a scoreless tie. He added two more back points in the third period en route to the 3-0 win.

"It’s an insanely big win," said Graves, who was sixth last year at 145 and fifth at 135 as a sophomore. "Last year, I came out here and didn’t have the greatest matches. Everyone who finished above me one through five were all seniors. This year, I was the senior."

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